1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to multi-purpose storage containers usable as a tool box, sewing box, jewelry box, notion box, fishing tackle box, recording tape cartridge or cassette storage container and the like and particularly to such containers that may be variously internally structured according to the preference of the individual user.
2. Prior Art
The prior art teaches of multitudinous variations of many different kinds of storage containers. Almost universally, existing container designs are limited in function and thus have little or no utility when employed for other than their intended application.
Tool boxes, for example, generally comprise a rectangular metal or plastic body with a hinged top. A small parts tray, typically nests within the body and must be removed to obtain access to the larger tools stored beneath. This necessity of removing the tray and setting it down to gain access, coupled with lack of internal compartmentalization, makes most portable tool boxes inefficient to use.
Fishing tackle boxes suffer from many of the infirmities of the tool boxes. Additionally, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,840, fishing tackle boxes typically employ several trays which are pivotally or slidably interconnected by linkage. This type of construction is relatively expensive and heavy. Additionally, the pivoting tray design inherently restricts access to the lower compartment and permits use only when fully open and susceptible to the elements. Typically, a carrying handle is mounted to the top, requiring that the box be set down and opened, being extremely difficult to use while held.
Even "multipurpose" storage containers are generally intended and designed for one specific application; i.e., to hold items of a particular size. Although they often are light weight and inexpensive, such containers are not structurally sound so as to be portable and lockable in a meaningful way. Additionally, if they have sliding or moving parts, they are typically of low quality and do not lend themselves to multipurpose use and internal restructuring by the user.
This invention has the same general external appearance as the invention disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,885 for a Cassette Storage Unit with Sliding Cover which was granted Aug. 5, 1975. The current invention represents an improvement over that in U.S. Pat. No. 3,897,885 in the bearing surface design for the sliding cover. The thrust of my present invention, however, is to improve upon multi-purpose utility storage containers in general.
It is clearly desirable to provide a utility container having the strength and structural integrity of the steel tool box and the storage capacity of the fishing tackle box without the associated weight, complexity and cost thereof. It is also desirable to include features such as stackability of units, a high degree of portability and a design that allows the user to readily reconfigure the container as his needs dictate. It is to this area that the present invention is addressed.